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Jonathan Harker
Category:ArticlesCategory:CharactersCategory:Novel characters | aliases = John Harker Juan Harker Drácula; Spanish-speaking version of the 1931 film. | continuity = | series = Dracula | image = | notability = | type = | occupation = Solicitor | race = | gender = | base of operations = London, England | associations = | known relatives = Mina Murray Quincy Harker | status = | born = | died = | 1st appearance = Dracula | final appearance = | actor = David Manners Barry Norton John Van Eyssen Keanu Reeves }} Jonathan "John" Harker is a fictional solicitor and a central character in the Dracula multimedia franchise. Based on a character featured in the 1897 novel Dracula by author Bram Stoker, the film version of the character appeared in the 1931 movie adaptation of Dracula by director Tod Browning. The character was played by actor David Manners. In the Hammer Film Productions remake of the story from 1958, Jonathan Harker was played by John Van Eyssen. In 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula, the role of Jonathan Harker was portrayed by Keanu Reeves. Biography Novel Jonathan Harker is classically portrayed as a young solicitor from London and the fianc of Mina Murray. He is charged by his firm to complete a real estate transaction brokering the sale of properties in London from a Transylvanian nobleman named Dracula. Harker travels by carriage to Transylvania to finalize the deal and ultimately becomes a prisoner of the vampire Count. After being tormented by the Count's vampire brides, Harker escapes and returns to London where he must join with others to stop Dracula from seducing his new bride, Mina. Universal Monsters John Harker was the fiancé of Mina Seward and lived in London, England during the early 1930s. Fashions and hairstyles indicate that this film takes place in the year in which it was released. Mina and he attended the symphony with her friend Lucy Weston and Mina's father, Doctor Seward. It was at this time that John first met Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. John was also present when Mina began to exhibit symptoms of vampirism. John and Mina stayed at her father's sanitarium and John kept close vigil over Mina. The learned scholar, Professor Van Helsing, warned John about Count Dracula, positively identifying him as a vampire. Dracula terrorized John and Mina on the terrace of her room at the sanitarium in the form of a bat. Shortly thereafter, John and Professor Van Helsing followed Dracula's lackey, Renfield, to Carfax Abbey where Van Helsing plunged a stake into Dracula's heart. John rushed to Mina's side to make certain that she was safe. Hammer Horror .]] Jonathan Harker was a scholar and a lifelong friend of Doctor Van Helsing. He was also very close to the Holmwood family and was engaged to marry Lucy Holmwood, sister to his friend Arthur Holmwood. In their studies, Van Helsing and Jonathan discovered the existence of vampires. Moreover, they learned about the most dangerous vampire of all – Count Dracula. Jonathan took it upon himself to insinuate himself into Dracula's life and destroy the vampire once and for all. In May of 1885, Jonathan Harker traveled to Castle Dracula near the village of Klausenburg under the pretense of being a librarian. He arranged for Dracula to hire him on to stay at the castle and index all of the volumes in the Count's personal library. On his first evening in the castle, Jonathan met a young woman who claimed to be a slave of the Count. She begged him to set her free, but Jonathan put her off until he could learn more about the Count. Dracula soon introduced himself, but Jonathan made no mention of the strange woman he had encountered. Dracula provided him with a room and gave him a key to the library. He told Harker that he would be away during the day, but would return at night to consult with him. The following evening, Jonathan had a second encounter with the scared woman trapped in Dracula's castle. Once again, she begged him to set her free. As she held Jonathan close in her arms, she revealed her vampire fangs and tried to bite him. Dracula appeared in the room and didn't bother to disguise the fact that he was a vampire as well. He pushed the woman away and took Jonathan for himself. Jonathan awoke the following afternoon in his bedroom. He had two puncture wounds on the side of his neck and knew that he was now a victim of Dracula. He recorded his thoughts in his diary, then crept out the bedroom window onto the grounds below. He hid his diary inside a hole in a tree, then returned to Castle Dracula to put an end to Dracula. He had very little time as the sun would be going down soon. He found the crypt beneath Castle Dracula, which contained the coffins of Dracula and his bride. He took a hammer and stake and executed the vampire woman. As she died, the woman turned into an aged crone. He was too late to take care of Dracula however. The vampire lord rose from his coffin and attacked Jonathan, turning him into a vampire. Some ten days later, Doctor Van Helsing was traveling through the outlying streets of Klausenburg where he met an innkeeper's hostess. The woman had recovered Jonathan's diary and presented it to Van Helsing. Upon reading it, Van Helsing knew that Jonathan was dead and he went to Castle Dracula. He found no evidence of Dracula himself, but he did discover the coffin where Jonathan slept. He drove a stake into his heart, putting his soul at peace. Notes & Trivia * * In the novel, Jonathan Harker was a central character and most of the prose was taken from his point of view. The 1931 film however, greatly marginalized Harker's role in the story, and he existed as little more than a witness to the events taking place around him. One element that seems to be common to all versions of the character is his relationship to Mina and his presence at the climax of the story when Van Helsing and he (usually accompanied by others), fights against Dracula for the final time. * The character of Jonathan Harker has appeared in nearly every film adaptation of ''Dracula. He has been played by actors such as David Manners, John Van Eyssen, Murray Brown, Bosco Hogan, Bruno Ganz, Keanu Reeves, Steven Weber, Hardy Krüger, Jr., Rafe Spall and Johnny A. Wright. * Most versions of the character are identified by his full name, Jonathan Harker. The Universal Monsters version is the only version to use the shortened form, John Harker. * The Hammer Horror version of Jonathan Harker vastly differs from previous interpretations of the character. In the novel, and many of the film adaptations, Jonathan Harker is a London solicitor, not a librarian from Klausenburg. He is also engaged to marry Mina Harker, not Lucy Westerna-Holmwood. Also, Horror of Dracula is one of the few films where the character of Jonathan Harker is killed off. Appearances * Bram Stoker's Dracula * Dracula * Dracula (1931) * Drácula * Dracula Lives! 10 * Dracula Lives! 11 * Horror of Dracula * Tomb of Dracula 7 See also External Links * Jonathan Harker at the Horror House References